


Grizzled heart.

by Hobbesss



Category: We Bare Bears (TV)
Genre: Awkward Dates, Conventions, Found Family, Furry, Healing, Hypnotism, Implied Sexual Content, Injury, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:47:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25254847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hobbesss/pseuds/Hobbesss
Summary: While out on a hike, the three bears discover a mysterious tiger in bad shape and desperate need of help. After being taken in and discovering the tiger has amnesia, Grizz volunteers to help care for the tiger so his brothers may relax a bit. Through this the two begin to bond. A story of awkward flirts and mumbled compliments. Grizz finds himself falling for someone and becoming more and more interested in just who this tiger is. Unfortunately not everyone is exactly happy to let it all naturally happen, and soon Grizz finds he'll have to trust not only in his brothers, but this Tiger in order to get out of this all in one piece.
Relationships: Grizz/Nom-Nom, Grizz/Self insert
Kudos: 14





	1. A hike like no other.

Grizz stepped up onto a log and looked back at his brothers. Sweat drenched the brown bears fur as he put his hands on his hips with a smile on his face. 

“Only a few more miles to go bros! Great job so far! Lets take one more break! I think Pan-Pan there is about to pass out”

The mentioned panda bear was on his knees crawling over to the same log Grizz was on. He lay his head on the log, and began to whisper.

“No service…..no shade….nothing here……”

Grizz bent down and gave him a light pat on the back as if it helped at all. He felt another thump from the opposite side of Panda. When he looked over he saw the youngest brother sitting down, not a single sweat drop on him.

“Ice bear is willing to carry out of shape brother if it means leaving sooner.”

Panda sat up and opened his mouth ready to retaliate, but sighed in defeat.

“Ice bear is right….i might take him up on that offer. Why the heck are we out here Hiking Grizz?!

The bear hopped off the log to get a good look at both his brothers.

“Cmon you guys! Where's your sense of adventure and spirit and all that?! Its a beautiful day and the weather was just perfect! We needed to get out of the house anyways.”

Grizz wasn't lying, It was beautiful out. Birds flew around the entire forest as the sun beamed down on the beaten down path the bears were taking. It had been like this all day. Grizz woke up and took one good look at the weather and decided today was a hiking day. The previous night was a loud thunderstorm, Waking up Grizz every second. In his head, he was getting back at the storm for having a good time outside now.

Panda wasn't even looking at Grizz. He just rolled his eyes and looked at his phone again.  
For a second, Panda could see one bar but quickly that went away. He sighed, putting his phone away and getting up.

“I think we’ve gone out more than enough times Grizz, you could have just left me to watch the home and only dragged icebear along!

“What?! No way! Any activity without the three of us is so...weird… I cant just leave out my cute Pan-Pan!

Grizz dashed towards Panda without warning and gave him a hug. Panda started to squirm and protest at first but eventually gave up and let Grizz get the hug out of his system. What was just a few seconds felt like an hour to Panda and finally he let the poor bear go.

“Argh Grizz now I'm even more sweaty!” Panda complained. He sighed and looked back at the log before looking back at Grizz. He loved him but he could really be a handful sometimes.

He continued to look around the place they stopped at, not really knowing what he was looking for. It was a small little break area someone in the past must have made themselves, charlie maybe? Besides the log there was a stump near it to sit on. Outside of that it was pretty pathetic. There was only just enough shade to make it feel worth stopping at.

He needed to get away from them, if only for a second. He looked into the forest. It looked a lot less easier to move through but was covered with tons of shade.

Panda took one last look at Grizz before deciding on it.

“Look you guys stay here for a bit, I'm gonna go walk around the forest for some WiFi. Ok?

Grizz frowned, obviously worried about his brother going alone. “You sure you don't want me to come along with you dude? I promise I'll be super quiet! You wont even know im there! 

Panda shook his head. Grizz had claimed he would be quiet before and to put it simply. He was never quiet. 

“Look i’ll be fine, I’ll be back before you know it ok?”

Before Grizz could answer, Panda walked off into the forest leaving the two brothers alone.

“Icebear gives it 5 minutes before we here him shriek.”

Grizz gave him a stern look. “Cmon dont bully Panda like that!” Grizz bit his inner lip though, he had a feeling Ice bear was right.

_______________________________________________________________

Panda had a small smile on him as he walked through the enormous forest.Him and the bears practically grew up in this place yet Panda still didn't know the place too well. He had no idea where he was going, and a part of that scared him but most of it didn't bother him. Where he was, it was quiet, there was shade, and with any luck, he might find a spot with actual service. It was just the break he needed.

He checked his phone, the bars rapidly blinked between no bars and a single bar. He was sure if he just kept walking straight he might actually get service.

Panda kept walking at a casual pace just staring ahead. He stopped himself when he saw something that seemed out of the ordinary. 

Up ahead, past some trees, Panda could see small black puffs of smoke up ahead. Sometimes thugs and such would make small fires but never anything that would get out of control.

A part of him wanted to just turn the other way and ignore it but he would feel guilty and lose sleep afterwards if it turns out to be something big. He slowed down and creeped up to the smoke, legs shaking more and more with every step until he was in front of a pair of bushes covering the smoke.

Panda was just about to turn around but he swore he could hear fire, so with one final push of bravery, Panda walked through the bush to see what was the commotion.

His eyes widened in shock, he wasn't sure what he was expecting. But it wasn't this.

A bus had crashed into the forest , it was stuck in a ditch. There was a small fire on the bus that thankfully had not spread yet. Panda looked around waiting to see a horrible sight of bodies or something but to his surprise he couldn't find it. He only saw one person sitting upright, his back against a tree as he rested. 

Panda took one step back before breaking into a full on sprint towards his brothers. He wasn't good at all with situations like this. As much as he wanted to help the random guy, he didn't feel comfortable doing it all without his brothers.

“Geez….why did we have to go on a stupid walk today?!” Panda complained.

The bear sprinted off with Urgency..


	2. I got ya.

Ice bear ran on all fours as fast as he could. Bits and pieces of sticks and branches hit his face but he toughed it out. The minute Panda came back with a worried look on his face Icebear had sprinted into action.

The bears were in their usual stack formation, Grizz barley avoiding tree branches and getting knocked off.

“Are you sure about what you saw Panda?” Grizz hated to admit it but sometimes Panda could be overdramatic. The smallest storms can scare him and it wouldn't take much to overpower him.

The panda let out a small pout. “Yes Grizz! I'm positive! We have to hurry!”

“Ok ok i'm just making sure! The last time you came to us all panicked it was because there was a branch on your window and you thought it was someone stalk-”

“Ice Bear thinks we are close”

Grizz quiets up as the bears approach the scene that Panda claimed to see. Icebear slows down and lets the bears all hop off of him before getting up and peaking past the bush.

Ice bear immediately runs past the bushes.

“Wha-?! Bro! Wait up!” Grizz reached out his paw for him.

Panda followed Icebear leaving Grizz alone. Grizz sighed and walked past the bush.  
It was exactly how Panda described it. The bus in the ditch, the fire, everything. He could see his two brothers working extinguishing a fire, Icebear using makeshift leaves as boots to stomp it out, Panda just shouting and being moral support.

Grizz takes the scene in more and is about to help with the fires when he notices a person laying on a tree. He gasps and scrambles over to the person to get a better look at him.

The first thing Grizz noticed was that the person was in fact, a tiger. He had light gray fur and his tail was stripped gray and black. He wore a simple shirt and jeans, both looking quite dirty. His face seemed to be a mass of fur that covered his mouth, and he wore huge glasses that made it pretty damn hard to see his pupils. His arm was bent in a way Grizz knew it shouldn't be, and he was still softly breathing.

Grizz slowly walked up towards the guy, not knowing what to do first.

He decided to gently nudge him a bit to see if he was even conscious. He stirred a little bit, but other than that didn't do anything. Grizz called out to the stranger but again, nothing.

Grizz sighed. “Well i can't just leave him like this..” 

Grizz slowly and carefully crouched down and began to pick up the guy. He was surprisingly light, and before Grizz knew it, he was carrying the guy bridal style. He seemed to nuzzle into Grizz’s fur like a pillow. The brown bear blushed a bit before going to his bros.

Ice bear had made quick work of the fire, he gave one final stomp to a fire before looking over to Panda.

“Ice bear has vanquished the fire...no thanks to brothers.”

Panda had been hiding behind a tree. “C-cmon man! I'm not like you, you know that! Where did you learn to do that stuff anyways..”

Panda walked towards Ice bear just as Grizz approached the two bears.

“I found this guy laying down!” Grizz said, walking up to the two.

“Oh god is he alive?!” Panda put his hands over his eyes.

“He’s breathing but i think his arms are broken. We need to get him to the hospital fast!

“Ice bear wants you to recall the bill the last time we went to that place”

“W-we’ll we can't just leave him here! We have to do something!” Grizz let out those words with a little more anger then he had intended. In such a short amount of time he had already grown attached to the stranger.

“Icebear has supplies at home. Suggests we hurry”

“You do?! Oh thank goodness let's go then!” Grizz had already begun climbing the ditch and working towards the bush.  
“Er- dude! Careful with that guy!” Panda dashed toward Grizz worried.

“Dont worry dont worry i got him!” He reached the top of the ditch and looked down at the tiger.  
Despite the injuries he seemed pretty peaceful all things considered. He stirred ever so slightly, trying to get comfortable in Grizz’s arms.

“....i got ya….” Grizz mumbled. 

______________________________________________________

Grizz gently put down the tiger on his couch. The three bears had made it back to the cave. Their living room was a mess which led to Grizz akwarldy kicking stuff off the couch so he could place the new guest down. 

Grizz could barely tell how he was feeling. So much of his face was just fur. The glasses didn't help either. He looked around for either of his bros before slowly going over to take off the glasses.

Before he could touch them he felt a quick swat on his paw.

“Owch!” Grizz pulled back his arm, wincing. 

“Ice bear suggests not annoying sleeping guest in any way.” 

Ice bear began picking stuff up and cleaning the whole room. Grizz started to help too while asking him questions.

“So he’ll be ok right? You said you have tools?”

The polar bear nodded. “In the shed, Ice bear just needs space and time” 

Grizz and Ice bear stared at each other for a bit as Grizz hesitated to ask a question.

“.....Ice bear needs to be alone for it..”

The brown bear crossed his arms, clearly disappointed. 

“Cmon Grizz, the least you can do is give him some space for a few hours. Panda had walked into the cave last and quickly maneuvered his way past Grizz and Ice bear.

“Easy for you to say bro! I bet your ecstatic to be here again..”

Panda noticed the hint of disappointment in Grizz’s voice and sighed. He walked over and gave him a small pat on the back. Physical affection from Panda was rare unless the bears all just got out of a near death situation, so Grizz gave him a smile.

“I was just cranky and got no sleep dude, next time we hike just let us all know beforehand ok?”

“Alright Pan-Pan!” That did it. Grizz was back to his normal happy self. 

“I’ll be in my room and be super quiet so our talented bro can save my guest here!

Grizz froze for a sec, realizing what he just said.

“My guest? Are you claiming him now Grizz?” Panda questioned.

“Er-OUR guest right! Lets just go to our rooms and let ice work yeah?

Panda gave Grizz a confused look, but eventually just shrugged his shoulders and walked off to his room.

Grizz gave one last look at Icebear, he had cleaned the room for the most part and was getting ready to go outside. Grizz turned around, knowing he could trust his little bro and went to his room.

If the living room was a mess, then Grizz’s room was a dump. Crumbled up wrappers from snacks he brought into the room and dirty dishes could be found on the floor or under his bed.  
On his desk was his laptop, (although he rarely ever used it unless the other bros were around)  
And on his walls were motivational posters or pics of his bros.

He flopped onto his bed and sighed. Grizz could feel boredom creeping up on him. Sitting alone waiting for things was never his strong suit. Especially with something so exciting.

He paused for a minute, trying to figure out if it was ok to call all this “exciting”. For all he knew, this person could be dead and here he was calling it exciting!

“.....nah….im sure Ice will take care of him” Grizz thought.

The bear turned over onto his back and stared at the ceiling. If he listened hard enough he could hear Ice bear fumbling around with his tools. He wondered how he could do all of that without waking up the tiger.

Tick...tock….tick….tock…

Grizz shot up from his bed and rushed out of his room, He made a quick turn and was in front of Panda’s room. He gave the door a single knock before letting himself in.

Panda was on his laptop and had earphones in, from what Grizz could see, he was web chatting with some Girl. Grizz did a silent fist pump for the panda. For Panda this was like hitting third base.

Grizz quietly watched him for a sec before walking up to Panda and gently touching his shoulder.

“GAH!” Panda flinched and fell off his chair. His headphones plugged out and through the speakers Grizz could hear a concerned girl asking if Panda was ok.

“Yes im ok im ok! Just a family member is all i’ll be right back!” Panda scrambled to his computer and hit the mute button on his mic, he then closed the laptop and plugged the headphones back in.

“What the hells your problem Grizz?!” Panda scolded.

“Woah! First off, language dude. Not cool.”

The panda bear looked a bit guilty. “Uh..sorry...but still! What are you doing?!”

“What? I just felt like hanging with my bro! That's all!”

“You just got bored of waiting for icebear to finish whatever he’s doing with the guest! I can read it all over your face!”

“Wha?!” Grizz put a paw over his heart, acting offended. “WHO’S the one with the best poker face during our poker night games?”

“Ice bear” Panda replied bluntly.

Grizz looked hurt. “You coulda played along a little….”

Panda sighed. “Cmon I'm seriously busy dude. Out.”

“But-”

“Nope. Out.”

“BUT-”

But Panda had already shoved Grizz out the door. He closed the door in front of Grizz. He could hear Panda apologizing for being gone so long.

“Well...that was a failure.” Grizz turned back around and tip-toed over to the living room.

Peeking over the wall he could see ice bear hard at work, a motion of white fury, all concentrated on making sure this stranger was safe. 

Grizz forced himself to look away and walk back to his room. If Ice bear saw Grizz, he probably wouldn't get dinner for the night. He walks over to his laptop and sits down simply tapping his claws on the desk out of boredom.

Who even WAS this tiger guy? Grizz couldn't remember any tigers, or really any animals besides Nom-Nom that lived here. Charlie was stretching it. Aside from them it was just bears and humans.

Grizz turned on his laptop and opened up google. He figured he might as well see if he can find out anything about this guy.

Grizz quickly typed out, “Missing gray tiger” into the search bar and began to search. Article after article came up but nothing was really what he was looking for.

There were regular missing tigers and other gray animals but nothing that was specifically a gray tiger.

“There has to be SOMETHING” Grizz rambled. He continued to search, article after article,  
Page after page looking for absolutely anything that had to do with this guy. His eyes grew heavy and he began to slouch. Before long, Grizz fell asleep.

_____________________________________________________________

Grizz heard knocking at his door that woke him up instantly. He blinked it a bit remembering what he was doing before wiping off the drool on himself and sitting up.

“J-just a second!” Grizz nearly shouted.

He gave himself a few more seconds to wake up before standing. He walked towards the door expecting one of his brothers.

But when he opened the door he let out a gasp.

It was the tiger, standing with a cast on his right arm, He adjusted his glasses a bit and stared at Grizz.

“Your...Grizz right?” The tiger asked?

Grizz didn't say anything for a few seconds before shaking his head. “Y-yeah thats me!”  
Grizz wanted to be polite and ask how the tiger was doing or if he was ok but before he knew it he had blurted out the most burning question in his mind.

“What's your name?”

The tiger smiled a bit though Grizz wasn't really able to tell. “Your brothers were right. That was the first thing you were gonna ask.”

“My name.. is Hobbes. I guess I should fill you in on what happened while you were asleep.”


	3. A hour earlier..

Ice bear gently wrapped a bandage around Hobbes’s arm. It had been a long few hours of work and he was surprised his older bro listened to him and left him alone the whole time. He finished wrapping the last bit of the bandage around Hobbes's arm and stood back to admire his “work”.

The most noticeable thing about the tiger was the cast that covered his right arm. It was the only big injury that he had. The rest was just minor cuts and bruises scattered across his body. The cast was the easy part if Ice bear was being honest. He was more worried about waking the tiger up while he was treating all the cuts.

Ice bear walked over to Grizz’s room to tell him the good news but found that his brother was sleeping on his desk. He walked a bit closer to him, giving him a gentle poke. No response.  
The polar bear rolled his eyes a bit. All that excitement and he won't even be awake to see his patient recover. He gently closed the door to Grizz’s room and walked back to Hobbes.

With nothing better to do. Ice bear simply grabbed a seat near where Hobbes was resting and began sharpening his axe, waiting for him to wake up. For all Ice knew, this guy could be a serial killer or bear hunter. Broken arm or not. Ice didn't wanna take any chances. 

The clock ticked as Ice bear patiently waited. In many ways Ice was the complete opposite of his oldest bro. He was quiet and generally kept to himself if he could help it, not to say he didn't enjoy hanging with his brothers, but peaceful quiet moments like this weren't the worst place to be for him. It’s partially why he loves sleeping in the fridge so much. It's cold, and it's quiet. Nothing else really needed to be said.

Just as Ice bear was getting ready to meditate, he noticed the tigers nose twitch just a bit.  
He got back up and stood near him, tense and waiting to see if anything would happen.

The tigers head moved ever so slightly, Ice bear could only guess he was blinking his eyes and waking up. The glasses made it hard to really tell. After a few awkward moments of staring. The tiger’s mouth began to move as his first words came out.

“.....My arm is broken.”

The polar bear let a bit of his guard down.

“Ice bear put cast over your arm, treated your wounds. Now, tell Ice bear who you are.”

Yes Ice bear was the complete opposite of his oldest brother, and that meant he wasn't the best in social situations. The tiger gave the bear a confused look before looking down at his body.  
Small parts of his clothes were a bit ripped but other than that he was fine. 

Hobbes extended his only working arm out to Ice bear.

“You're the guy that helped me? You're a lifesaver thanks!”

Ice bear quickly took the tiger's hand and shook it before letting go quickly.

“Ice bear wants to know your name.”

“O-oh right. My name is Hobbes. What's your name?”

“.........Ice bear……..”

Hobbes’s face turned a bit red, it was a stupid question but he wanted to be sure.

“Right….thank you Ice.”

Hobbes began to try to sit up only to be stopped by Ice bear. He used both paws and pinned the tiger down gently with little effort.

“Ice bear suggests waiting a minute before getting up”

Hobbes simply nodded and tried to look around as best he could from where he was. He noticed the tv and the windows to the cave, along with the kitchen in the back.

“....Where am i?”

Ice bear let Hobbes go and explained.

“Ice bear saved you from crash, Ice bear and his two brothers took you to home. Treated your wounds, saved your life.”

He walked over and took a picture off the wall. The picture included all three bears posing for a pic. Grizz with his arms around the bros and a big smile on his face. Panda looking at the camera shyly and Ice bear looking mute.

He showed the pic to Hobbes and pointed at Grizz. “Loud one. oldest brother. Big softy.”  
He moved his paw over to panda. “Panda . Shy one, middle brother. big nerd.”  
Finally he pointed at himself. “Ice bear. Quiet. Youngest. That's all ice bear will allow you to know”

He put the picture back.

“..Who are you?”

Ice bear gave the tiger a minute to fully process everything he said before he gave an answer. Hobbes shifted on the couch uncomfortably, and let an awkward silence fill the air before finally speaking up.

‘...I….don't know….”

The polar bear turned his head in curiosity before getting close to the tigers face.

“If guest is lying, Ice bear will find out.” The polar bear threatened. 

The tiger shook his head, confident in his answer. “Look Man, I'm being serious. I can't remember.”

Saying it again scared the tiger a bit, making him fully realize the situation he was in.  
Here he was in a strangers house with barely any way to defend himself and all he could remember was...

“I remember being on that bus until it somehow crashed. That's it.”

The polar bear gave him a long stare. Hobbes was almost tempted to call out his name in case something was wrong, but just before he did, Ice bear pulled away.

“.....Injuries...no memory…..weak…” The bear mumbled to himself.

Hobbes decided to keep quiet at the weak remark. The last thing he wanted was a fight.

Suddenly, Ice bear clapped his hands together, scaring Hobbes a bit and making him jolt.  
Ice got up and started walking towards the kitchen.

“Arm will take a few months to heal. Ice suggests staying here with brothers until then”

He takes out a knife and starts to open the fridge.

“Ice bear trusts you for now. If guest harms bros in any way..”

Ice bear slammed the fridge shut after grabbing what he needed and pointed the knife at Hobbes before going back to prepping dinner.

“....Right…” Hobbes replied, a bit intimidated.

“Ice bears brothers are down that hall. Suggests talking to them for more info.”

Hobbes hesitated a bit to get up, scared Ice would suddenly come pin him down again. Slowly he sat up on the couch and took a deep breath before moving his legs onto the floor. After counting to three. He hoisted himself up with his left arm in one swift motion and was standing.

The cast was itchy and made him stand a bit awkwardly. Nevertheless he walked over to the kitchen to just take a look at it before going down the hall to the other two bros.

Ice bear kept the kitchen nice and clean. He had started on dinner and had basically become a motion blur. Despite moving so fast, Ice bear didn't knock over a single ingredient or spill a drink, he effortlessly juggled tools and food like he had been made to do it. Hobbes watched in a trance as the bear prepared food for everyone.

He stopped suddenly and started at Hobbes, a bit confused, then resumed prepping. Hobbes shook his head a bit and looked on ahead to two doors, He could hear noise coming from and decided to try his luck with that one. Hobbes gave the wooden door three gentle knocks.  
He could hear an annoyed sigh and someone telling another that he would be right back…

“Grizz I told you to leave me alo-GAH!”

Hobbes flinched and used his working arm to cover his face in fear. A few seconds past and he slowly raises them down to see a nervous looking Panda bear stand in front of him. His legs shook slightly and he sneaked in looks at the ground occasionally.

“Y-your that guy we found! Uh- I'm glad you're ok. Im panda.”

Panda put his arm out and offered a handshake. Hobbes stood in place for a split sec, trying to use his right arm out of instinct before using his left.

“Ice bear must have been the first to greet you huh? Don't worry about him, he can be weird sometimes but he means well. Me and Grizz don't even know much about him!” The panda chuckled. He continued before he could even let Hobbes respond.

“Oh! Have you met with Grizz yet? His door is right next to mine. He’ll probably ask what your name is before even saying hello. He’s interested in you, I think. If you're wondering where ice sleeps, he just kinda chills in the fridge….he likes it there.”

Hobbes shook his head. Panda inched over a bit to his door.

Well...why don't you go say hi to him! Not that i'm not excited you're alive and all but im just in the middle of a chat with someone and dont wanna keep em busy. Like I said, Door right next to mine! Have fun! 

And just like that. Panda closed the door.

Hobbes could hear the bear go back to talking to someone. He looked over to the door next to Pandas. Nothing could be heard. With nothing holding him back, Hobbes walked up to the door and gave it a swift knock. 

“Just a second!”

He could hear fumbling inside as someone rushed over to open the door. Grizz opened the door, drool on his fur, an excited and a bit crazed look in his eyes. If Hobbes put his hand on his chest he could probably hear his heart beat.

“...Your Grizz right?” The tiger asked.


	4. Dinner time

Hobbes had taken a seat on Grizz’s bed, his tail gently moving back and forward in curiosity as he looked at the dirty room. Grizz’s room was actually pretty big, but it was filled with so much junk in it that it just got cramped. Hobbes could see piles of outfits, crumbs from food taken from the kitchen, and a weight lifting set that was far too dusty to have been used recently. 

He turned his gaze to Grizz, who was currently looking at the tiger the same way a little kid would look at a Firefighter. Grizz was giving Hobbes his full attention as he caught Grizz up to speed on what happened when the tiger woke up, how his bros treated him, etc. 

When Hobbes finished his recap, Grizz took a deep breath, closed his eyes and looked at the ground.

"I can't believe…." Grizz started. Hobbes smiled, ready to accept whatever words Grizz was about to say.

Grizz's eyes busted open as he rushed towards Hobbes suddenly, the personal space bubble wasn't just broken, it was decimated.

"That you survived a bus crash! That's so damn cool! Oops scuse my language but ahhh! Were you scared? How much did it hurt? Why do you think you crashed? It had to be the bus driver! What was HE DOING???"

Grizz had practically pressed his whole body onto the skinny tiger, part of Grizz leaned onto the cast covering Hobbes's broken arm. Hobbes winces and Grizz, noticing his mistake immediately retracts away from Hobbes, looking a lot more guilty in the process.

"Oo! I-im sorry! I hope you're okay I didn't mean to hurt you like that!" Hobbes could hear grizz begin muttering insults to himself as the bear looked away.

Hobbes took the moment to sit back up, For their very first time meeting, Grizz was awfully friendly. A part of Hobbes was worried about that, thinking Grizz had ulterior motives that he was hiding but seeing Grizz look so damn sad for accidentally hurting the tiger made Hobbes think otherwise. He was a bit overbearing yeah, but in a sense it was endearing, cute even.

"I don't even remember the crash happening" Hobbes began, Grizz looked back up at Hobbes, finally stopping the mumbling and the guilty look being replaced with pure awe again.

"One moment I was on that bus for some reason, then I'm on the ground sure I was gonna die! Everything between those moments is hazy."

The tiger coughs a bit, obviously having trouble getting out the next few words.

"I...heard from your bros you're the one who actually picked me up and saved me. ….Thank you."

Grizz stayed silent for a few seconds before casually shrugging. 

"Of course! It was no big deal! I see a person in danger like that, I'm gonna do everything I can to help him!"

He puts his hands on his hips and does a silly looking pose, earning a chuckle from the tiger.

"No memory though huh…. That is pretty weird.  
I've never heard of something like that…."

Grizz's eyes lit up for a sec and he smacked his forehead.

"I mean! N-not weird in a bad way! I don't think you're a weirdo! I just...you know what I mean right?"

Hobbes nodded and Grizz sighed in relief. He looked up and opened his mouth a bit, about to say something but struggling to find the courage to by the looks of it, when suddenly the door opened.

Ice bear stood at the door, apron around his waist and just a bit of sweat on his forehead.

“Dinner is ready. Icebear commands guest to eat and gain strength.”

Ice bear immediately left after the single sentence. The room was silent and the two could hear Ice telling Panda to get off the laptop.

Grizz got up and licked his lips. “Dinner! Aw man, after everything that happened today i'm starved!” Grizz walked over to Hobbes and put his paw out. “Cmon lets go!”

Hobbes didn't need any help getting up but figured it would be easier to just take the bears hand. Grizz pulled Hobbes up with little effort and got him on his feet. Grizz’s hand lingered for just a tad bit longer then Hobbes had thought it would before he let go.

“I wonder what Lil bro made….awww im drooling just thinking about it..” Grizz mumbled.

_______________________________________________________________________

Steak, salad, calzones, cake. Icebear seemed to have gone all out for tonight. If there was a food you could think of, it was there. Sections of the table seemed to be specifically made for the three brothers with A smaller section for Hobbes that was right next to Grizz that had a variety of food. 

Hobbes took a seat and looked at Grizz who was fighting back tears. Panda had already gotten his phone out and was taking pictures and Icebear simply sat down and took a deep breath, obviously a bit winded from all the cooking.

“If anyone has something they dont wanna eat….tell me.” Grizz stated before channeling his inner feral animal and chowing down. Hobbes watched in horror as Grizz shoved food in at an alarming rate. He knew they were all bears so it was expected they could eat a lot, but this was a bit much.

Hobbes felt a timid paw touch his shoulder and turned over to see Panda.

“U-uh...sorry we didn't really talk when you woke up, i was talking to someone important and i just didn't wanna ruin it…” 

Icebear coughed and muttered “Hopeless romantic” which earned a glare from Panda before he looked back to Hobbes.

“Icebear told me you don't remember anything? Is that true?”. Panda, without looking, grabbed a chunk of salad and put it in his mouth. “I mean...that's like some of the anime I watch kinda! Where the cool Mc wakes up and has no idea where he is and stuff…”

The panda stops himself and looks down for a sec. “Sorry, that was kinda stupid.”

Grizz stopped eating for a few seconds to comfort Panda.

“Aw Pan-Pan cmon! I think you're on the right track! Our new friend here could be some kinda super powerful alien destined to save us three bros and he doesn't even know it!”

Grizz looked at Hobbes waiting for him to agree with the overzealous bear. When the tiger didnt say anything, he frowned a bit before going back to his food.”

“Ice bear did not sense any power when healing him, Just normal tiger”

Hobbes wanted to ask how he could sense that but decided against it.

“W-well in the anime the main character gets his memories back usually in some dumb way...like he’ll be hanging at the mall or something and it’ll trigger a flashback…”

Grizz nearly choked on his food trying to swallow before letting himself talk.

“Bros! That's perfect! We should all go to the mall! Or just take Hobbes to places! We can all hang out and maybe with any luck, Hobbes will get his memories back!”

Panda looked down awkwardly, Icebear stayed silent. Grizz cocked his head a bit, confused.

“I mean...it sounds like a great idea Grizz but i'm gonna be kinda busy tomorrow...talking with this girl and all.”

Grizz made a childish “Hrmph!” sound before getting up and walking to Icebear.

“Fine! Me Ice and Hobbes then! You’ll be missing out on a lot of fun Pan-Pa-

“Ice bear will also be busy. Has grocery shopping and other errands to do now.”

Grizz staggered back from the table and dramatically put his paw over his heart, as if he was wounded.

“Wha?! Betrayed by both my bros!? Are you guys trying to kill me?!”

Panda rolled his eyes and began to use his phone.  
“What's the big deal dude. You seemed the most enthusiastic about this guy anyways.”

Grizz’s eyes darted to the floor. “W-n-No i wasn't!” he insisted.

“You were the one that picked him up...were obsessed waiting for him to wake up, Lil bro told me you even were trying to find him online.”

Hobbes gave Grizz a curious look waiting for an explanation. All Grizz could do was slump down in defeat, returning to his chair, red in the face.

Hobbes put his paw on Grizz’s shoulder. “I don't mind Hanging with ya Grizz. Maybe it’ll work out.”

Grizz was still red all over but he smiled a bit. “Thanks dude...we can uh..visit some stores tomorrow. Let's just focus on eating for now! You haven't touched anything on your plate!

Hobbes looked down and saw the various foods. For a split second he tried using his right arm before looking to his left, worrying a bit.

“Does Ice bear need to feed guest?” 

“No no im ok! Just….gimme a sec.”

Hobbes slowly lifted his left arm up as if operating a crane, then picked up a nearby fork and pushed it into a piece of salad. 

The three bears watched in silence as Hobbes slowly lifted the fork back up. When he put it in his mouth, Grizz sprang up in celebration.

“Woo hoo! Nice job man!”

“G-Grizz its not that big a deal…” Panda mumbled.

“Ice bear is happy guest can eat all on his own.”

Hobbes looked down, embarrassed and continued eating, the rest of the bears took it as a sign that the convo was over and it was time to just relax and eat. Grizz has finished long before everyone else but came back to the table after putting his plate in the sink just because he liked company. Grizz spent most of his time swinging his feet under the table like a kid, and just enjoying the atmosphere. He would occasionally glance at Hobbes before darting his eyes back to the table.

When everyone finished their plates, Icebear began to wash some of the dishes while Panda put away leftovers and helped Ice clean up. Grizz usually got too distracted to properly clean so he just went to Hobbes, who was mulling over his cast.

Grizz gently touched the cast, getting Hobbes’s attention.

“Miss using the right arm huh?” Grizz asked.

Hobbes looked back at the cast silent.

“Aw don't look so down dude! You’ll get it off before you know it!” Grizz flashed a dopey smile at Hobbes, but it only seemed to make him sulk more.

“I'm more concerned about how i got it in the first place. I can't remember anything about why i was on that bus, Grizz…” Hobbes continued to sulk.

Grizz stared at him for a bit, unsure of what to do. He could see Hobbes was obviously in pain and he wanted to help but he didnt wanna push too much and scare him off. It reminded him of how Panda could be sometimes.

“Panda….Panda!” Grizz thought. An idea sprouted out. Whenever Panda was in a rotten mood he took a bath to relax and get his head straight. Maybe Hobbes was the same way.

“How long has it been since you took a bath?!” Grizz had a face that was way too excited to have for a question like that.

Hobbes snapped out of his thoughts, confused by such a random question. He sniffed himself a bit and recoiled a tiny bit. “....I guess it's been a bit.”

“Lemme make you a bath! It’ll get you all nice and calm...cmon!” Grizz started gently pulling Hobbes up from his chair, but Hobbes wouldn't budge.

“....What about my cast?” Hobbes mused.

As if on cue, Ice bear walked over.

“Cast will be fine. Go take bath.

Hobbes had begun to wonder just what that bear couldn't do besides emote. Before he could think about it any longer though Grizz had already began pulling at him even harder, forcing him to move.

The bathroom of the bears wasn't anything worth talking about. But it served its purpose. The bath was a bit larger than usual and each bear had labeled toothbrushes that Hobbes thought was cute, but that was all that was worth looking at in here.

“And that's how you use the bath knobs ok?” Grizz had already turned some of the knobs so that hot water came pouring out. “Oh shoot! There's no soap or anything in here! Lemme get some real quick i’ll be right back!” Before Hobbes could say anything Grizz left.

Hobbes started at the bath for a bit before thinking about how he's gonna take off his clothes with the cast on when a thought struck him. He had never checked his pockets to see if he had anything! With great speed his left hand shoots down into one pocket, only to find nothing. In the other pocket however was a wallet.

Hobbes’s heart raced as he opened the wallet and found a license. He struggled to take it out of the wallet but when he did his heart dropped.

Outside of a picture of him and his first name, there was no actual info he could use. It was all blurred out. Someone must have done something when he was knocked out maybe? He sighed and put it away. He would think about it more when he was in the bath. He shimmied out of his pants, letting his gray fur breathe free and his tail stretch out. Just as he was in the middle of tackling the daunting task of taking off his shirt, He heard the door click and open.

Grizz came bumbling in, “Got your Shampoo, conditioner and soap right here! Can't think clearly if you aren't cle-” He stopped mid sentence, noticing Hobbes in his underwear and part of his shirt lifted. 

Grizz blinked once. Twice. Then dropped all the stuff needed for the bath at Hobbes’s feet, let out the smallest whisper of a “sorry” and with a bright red face, left the room.

The door slammed shut just as Hobbes got off his shirt, he bent down and picked up the soap Grizz had left him. It looked like some kid brand, promoting lots of bubbles among other things.

Hobbes looked back up at the shut door and smiled. 

“Does Grizz use this kinda soap?”


	5. Bedtime

Hobbes sat on the couch, a mute look on his face as he stared at his license. He could hear an action movie playing in the background that Grizz was watching. Grizz had come up to Hobbes after his bath, wanting to watch the movie and just hang out to break the ice more but Grizz was pretty absorbed in the movie, waving his arms around and shouting things like “oh no!” or “yes!”.

The longer he stared at it, the worse he felt. The cheerful look he had in the pic contrasted so heavily to how he felt now. Alone in a cave filled with (well-meaning) strangers. What the hell did he do to get himself in a mess like this? He sighed and flicked the card onto a nearby table, catching Grizz’s attention.

When Grizz gleefully looked over to Hobbes, He noticed how tired he really looked. He could notice lines under his glasses, and his posture was a bit slouched. He had a bit of a scowl on his face as well.

Grizz picked the card up. Hobbes had shown him it earlier before the movie. 

“....It's a really good picture!” Grizz said.

Hobbes looked at him confused.

“..On your license i mean..you look good in it!”

Grizz scooted a bit closer to Hobbes. “Most people i see have the worst pictures i’ve ever seen! I once had a friend who had a picture that looked like this!”

Grizz stuck out his tongue and crossed his eyes while sticking out both his arms. Hobbes stared at him for a bit, still scowling before finally losing composure and cracking a smile. He gently punched Grizz on the belly with his left paw. “Cut it out you dork, No way someone has a pic like that.”

Grizz started snickering. “It's true i swear! I would never lie to a new friend! He was in the middle of sneezing as they took the pic and it came out like that! You should be thankful yours looked so good!”

Grizz handed the license to Hobbes and put his own paw over Hobbes’s hand. He looked at him and gave a confident smile, as if to say: “Everything will be ok!”.

“We can go out tomorrow and just hang out! I know this stuff seems like a bummer right now but i'm sure we’ll figure something out!”

Grizz put a paw on Hobbes’s Cast. “..even if you fully heal and all before we figure something out, I’ll fight tooth and nail to make sure you stay here until we figure something out!”

Grizz was awfully close now, It took Grizz a second to notice before he backed away awkwardly and coughed. Hobbes smiled, blushing a bit over just how determined Grizz was.

“Thanks Grizz...You're awfully determined to help a person you just met.”

It was Grizz’s turn to blush a bit. “Well yeah! Like I said, I see someone in trouble, I'm gonna help!”

Grizz looked over at the action movie and grabbed the remote to pause it.

“I guess i...feel some kinda responsibility towards you now. I mean yeah Pan-Pan found you but carrying you all the way back to the cave, seeing you all banged up and stuff...i just wanna make sure you don't end up like that again when you leave us.”

Grizz swallows a lump in his throat, realizing that at some point Hobbes is gonna leave, Why did it bother him so much? He shoved it down into his gut and ignored the thought. Hobbes gave Grizz a pat on the shoulder, breaking Grizz’s thoughts.

“I guess i'm just overthinking things. Tomorrow sounds like it’ll be fun!”

Grizz made a big smile as his little tail began to wag.

“Right?! Oh man there's so many places i gotta show you! There this mall that me and my bros always go to and theres like 50 million stores in it and there's this really cool pizza place and-”

Grizz had begun listing off places as Hobbes simply listened, content someone was there to get all these worries off his mind. It was almost like Grizz was just this never ending fountain of energy. It was almost 11:00 pm and yet he was still shouting and yelling like a kid.

Grizz took notice of the clock and covered his mouth with his paws.

“Oh shoot! Its already so late! I shouldn't be keeping you up like this!”

The bear let out a yawn. “Mmmm….yeah.. I think it's time. You got the blanket and pillow here. Want me to tuck you in?”

Hobbes just stared at Grizz for a bit. Not sure what to say.

Grizz fumbled his paws and swallowed a lump in his throat waiting for an answer, when nothing came out, he finally spoke up.

“I uh….i was just making a joke dude. Don't worry. Well uh...gnight” Grizz darted off to his room quickly. Hobbes could hear him mumble regrets about making the joke on the way out.

Grizz closed the door and gently hit his head on it over and over.

“Stupid, stupid,stupid! Why would you make that kinda joke?”

He sighed and took a few deep breaths. He wasn't one to berate himself so much. At least he thought so. Grizz walked over to his bed and flopped onto it, rolling over so he was on his back.  
Looking outside from his window, he could see the clear sky and stars out. Grizz loved to look at them till he fell asleep (which usually didn't take long.)

Grizz shifted into different positions for a bit trying to get comfortable. His bed groaned and creaked as he moved from one side to the next, all the while Grumbling and mumbling. His bed was pretty big, but so was Grizz, so he really didn't have much room to work with. 

After what seemed like decades, Grizz took a look at a clock nearby. 

“....12:00 AM?! No way!”

Grizz dug his head into his pillow and let out a mix between a mighty roar and a pathetic whine. Sleep just wasn't coming to the bear. His eyes were heavy, and he was comfy as can be, but something just wasn't clicking with him. He threw his legs over his bed in frustration and stared at his feet, not really sure what to do, when suddenly, a loud crashing noise could be heard from outside his door.

Grizz jumped, his heart began to race as he became fully awake. His mind began to race as he attempted to take deep breaths. He was the biggest bro in the house and to him, that meant taking all responsibilities including the very real possibility that someone was robbing their house. 

Grizz sighed and looked around for a weapon before looking at his hands and deciding to just use his claws. He didn't like using em, it felt weird having em pop out but if it was to protect his bros he would go with it.

Timidly, Grizz slowly opened his door, the entire cave was completely silent. Grizz was surprised. He figured his bros would have been out and about looking around and seeing what was up.

He held his breath and listened hard for any hint of a sound but there was nothing. Grizz swallowed a lump in his throat, assuming the worst for a split second before going over to Panda’s room. 

Slowly he opened the door. The last thing Grizz wanted to do was wake up either of his bros, and Panda was a generally light sleeper. He peeked over the wall and took a look around. He sighed in relief, he could see Panda laying in bed, headphones snugly tucked into both his ears.

“Phew…..Gnight Pan-Pan! Love ya.” Grizz whiserped. 

Grizz closed the door and made his way into the kitchen. He walked over to the fridge and very gently opened it just enough so he could look inside.

Another sigh of relief. Ice bear was sleeping, sprawled over a bunch of Ice packets. The fridges humming must have blocked out the noise. 

“Night lil bro. Good to see ya..” Grizz closed the door.

Finally, Grizz looked over to the living room where Hobbes was. His heart started to race again, it was too dark to see if Hobbes was OK over there. The last thing he wanted was something bad to happen to a guest-no a FRIEND he just saved.

Grizz’s fear turned into confidence, He unsheathed his claws, suddenly a bit angry.

“I'm coming for ya Hobbes!” Grizz awkwardly whispered and yelled at the same time.

He strutted over to the living room, prepared for the absolute worst situation..

..and came face to face with a Muttering Hobbes, Crouched over a cracked picture.

“....Hobbes?”

Hobbes stiffened, then turned around. He scratched the back of his head with his one hand, looking guilty. He stepped over to let Grizz see what was behind him. On the ground was a cracked picture of all the bears.

“Im sorry man. I accidentally hit it with my cast trying to sleep. I can pay it back somehow if you wan-”

Grizz instantly dashed to Hobbes and hugged him. His heart finally calming down for good. He was really milking the hug but Grizz didn't really care. He gently rubbed his snout into Hobbes earning a shiver from the tiger.

“Ahhhh dude! I'm just so glad you're ok!, I heard that loud noise and thought a robber had gotten you dude! Aw man forget about the picture!” Grizz squealed.

Grizz was still hugging Hobbes. The tiger coughed a bit before Grizz chuckled and let go, blushing a bit.

“Heh heh. Sorry. I was just glad”

Hobbes nodded and kneeled down to the pic and picked it up. He walked over to a nearby trashcan and dumped the broken glass into it before walking over and handing the pic to Grizz.

“Aw...i remember taking this picture.” The picture was all the bears in front of a coffee shop that Panda was excited about. Ice bear was sleeping and admittedly even Grizz wanted to get out of there but Panda was so happy to be there that Grizz dealt with it.”

“I’ll put it in my room ok? You get some rest.”

“Right...Sorry about this all. Night Grizz!”

“G'night Hobbes.” With that, Grizz made a quick turn around and went back to his room.

Sleep came to the bear a lot easier after that. Grizz snuggled into bed satisfied with his interaction with hobbes. His mind replayed the hug over and over and before Grizz knew it, he was thinking of excuses he could make to hug the tiger again.

Grizz couldn't explain it, hugging him just felt right in a sense. Plainly put, he wanted to do it more.  
As he closes his eyes, he puts a paw over them and begins to smile.

"Tomorrow is gonna be great.."


	6. Day out

Hobbes woke up to the sound of Ice bear prepping breakfast. It took him a minute to figure out where he was but after a few seconds he remembered it all. Broken arm, no memories, day with Grizz today. He moved around on the couch carefully until he was upright. He grimaced as he felt a sharp pain near his lower back. The couch wasn't the most comfy place to sleep all night, and the cast made it that much worse. 

He yawned as he scratched his chin and looked around. A nearby clock told him it was about 8:30. He was surprised and somewhat proud of himself for waking up so early on his own. He usually slept till 10:00. Hobbes got up and walked over to Ice bear, watching him do his thing while he tried to wake up. Once again Hobbes could see a vivid white blur moving around. An egg perfectly Cracked, an omelette flipped at just the right moment. Hobbes wondered if Grizz and Panda were used to this.

Ice bear stopped for a minute, noticing Hobbes, and walked over to him.

“Ice bear wants you to go Wake up Grizz…………………...also Good morning”

The polar bear didn't even wait for him to reply, he simply went back to putting the finishing touches on breakfast.

As Hobbes opened Grizz’s room, he was immediately hit with a...musk? The whole room’s air was completely different from the rest of the cave. While the kitchen and to a extent the couch where Hobbes was sleeping had spices and sweet food in the air, Grizz’s room felt like a desert.  
It was hot as hell. He wondered how Grizz could even sleep in here.

Hobbes walked over and opened a nearby window to help, wind blew on his snout as he looked outside. It was a sunny day outside and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Perfect to go out.

Grizz was sprawled over his bed. Snoring heavily. His belly rising and falling repeatedly. He was drooling a bit and occasionally his left foot would twitch. Hobbes gently gave him a push on the shoulder hoping it would be as easy as that but Grizz didn't move an inch. Hobbes gave the bear a slightly rougher shove, but all it did was make Grizz squirm and pull over his blanket.

Hobbes sighed, getting ready to give one final shove when he suddenly paused. He saw Grizz’s mouth begin to move. He thought grizz was awake at first, but he was just sleep talking. Hobbes kept quiet and tried to listen to what Grizz was mumbling in his sleep about.

“.....Cutie….hee hee...come gimme another hug…..”  
Grizz wrapped his arms around a nearby pillow and began to squeeze it. He buried his nose into the pillow and gently rubbed his face against it a little. At this point, Hobbes didn't want to wake up Grizz anymore. It was cute! He wasn't gonna deny that. He wouldn't tell Grizz that face to face but he could at least admit it to himself.

“....mysterious tiger…..more like...mysterious cutie…” Grizz mumbled.

Hobbes froze. Had he heard that right? Was his hearing damaged too? No, he could hear every word of the movie they watched last night. Grizz definitely said Hobbes was cute in his sleep.  
The tiger awkwardly stood there waiting for Grizz to say something else but It seemed that was it. Grizz had returned to incoherent noises and loud snoring.

Hobbes stood there for a bit and probably would have been there all morning if he didnt hear Panda greeting Ice bear in the kitchen. He shook his head and decided to just..ignore this. Dreams never made any sense anyways. It was fine.

Hobbes took a deep breath and gave a hard Shove. It was more like he was smacking Grizz honestly. Grizz didn't even shoot up surprised or anything. He just groggily opened his eyes and let out a yawn, looking a bit confused. His eyes began to focus on Hobbes however and the bear began to wear a soft smile.

“Hobbes? Did you wake me up? Morning man! Sorry you had to see me like this hehe…”

Grizz covers himself a bit with a blanket as if he was naked or something and gets a laugh out of the tiger. Before long, Grizz is laughing too. When the two calm down a bit, Hobbes offers his one hand to Grizz to help him up. Grizz accepts, and with one strong tug Grizz manages to sit up and get outta bed.

“Did lil bro just make breakfast? Usually he makes Pan-Pan wake me up. Sorry..” Grizz said.

Hobbes smiled, trying to reassure the bear.

“It's fine Grizz. I was already awake anyways. Besides, Your room is….”

Hobbes struggled to find a compliment for the place. It was like a tornado just blew into the place, not to mention the smell of it all…”

“...Charming…” Hobbes lied.

It was a lie but Grizz had a wide smile on his face. Such a small compliment had made him wake up instantly.

“Wow really?! Not even my bros like to stay in my room for too long! Its not like i try to make it a mess, i just have specific things put in specific places! A-And as for the smell well, i can explain that too, you see-”

“Oh geez, Is Grizz telling you all his excuses for his dirty room?” Panda interjected.

Hobbes and Grizz had made it to the kitchen and Panda was sitting on the table waiting for food.

“Excuses?! Hobbes! Don't listen to him! Please! I swear it’ll make sense just let me explain!” Grizz begged.

Hobbes just smiled and nodded, unsure if he should lie about anything else at this point. Grizz smirked, happy to tell someone about all his “excuses”. The entire morning was spent Listening to Grizz talk about his dirty room and why it was the way it was. At times it became hard to eat, nevertheless Hobbes endured it and simply stayed silent, not wanting to make the bear sad.

Thanks for breakfast bro! Grizz cheered. Despite being the last to start on his food, he was the first to finish it. He bounces over to the sink and puts his plate in it before walking over to his chair next to Hobbes. 

Hobbes had a little bit of food left but was kind of just playing with it at this point. The stories Grizz told today had gotten to him more than he thought. Ice bear Stared at Hobbes, a scowl beginning to form. He hated when people wasted his food.

“You uh…..you gonna eat that?” Grizz said.

Hobbes looked over to the curious bear and then back at his food.

“Well uh...i don't think-”

“Dibs!”

Grizz grabbed Hobbes’s plate and scooped the rest of the food into his mouth. He licked his lips before quickly dropping the plate in the sink. He ran back up to Hobbes. Excited and hopping a bit like a little kid.

“C'mon now that we're done eating we can go out!” Grizz shouted.

Hobbes had almost forgotten they were going out at all. Money wasn't an issue thankfully. The wallet his license was in had a generous amount of money. It only raised more questions than answers in Hobbes's head, but he just decided to ignore it. Hobbes got up and thanked Ice bear for the food before saying goodbye to both the bears and walking towards the door.  
“Bye guys! Pan-Pan! You're the man of the house until i'm gone ok?! You keep Lil bro safe and out of trouble!” Grizz instructed.

Panda rolled his eyes a bit. Grizz did this whenever he had to go somewhere without his brothers.

“Ice bear promises he will be on best behavior” Ice bear stated blanky.

“Wha- Dude! Don't encourage him!” Panda pleaded.

Grizz smiled at the two of em before opening the door for Hobbes.

“Ready to go out? I know some good places I can show you!”

Hobbes nodded and looked ahead. Ready to spend his day with Grizz.

________________________________________________________________

Grizz whistled as he walked down the path with Hobbes. He had a spring in his step and wasn't shy of showing it. The bear was practically dancing as he walked , shaking his hips slightly and wearing a big smile. It was a bright, sunny day and for Grizz that was all that was needed to burst into song.

His optimism was dangerously Infectious. Hobbes had a hard time not bouncing along with the bear down the beaten forest path. Grizz suggested going to a clothes shop first. Even though the bears didn't wear any usually, they saw plenty of places selling the stuff whenever they went out.

Hobbes glanced at Grizz. He never really thought about how weird it was that he wore clothes and yet Grizz didn't. Hobbes's curiosity had caused him to begin to stare. Grizz took notice and stopped his cheerful whistling.

"Something wrong, Hobbes?" Grizz asked.

Hobbes paused, thinking over if he actually wanted to have the conversation before deciding against it.

"Uh...no. how much longer till we're at the shop?"

"It's right up ahead after this turn! Don't worry!"

True to his words, the pair made a small turn right and Hobbes could see a building on the horizon.

As Hobbes got closer to the shop, he noticed how small it actually was. The shop was simply called "brandons" and it couldn't have been much bigger than the cave the bears lived in. Old signs promoting sales clung to the windows of the place and there didn't seem to be a single soul near the place.

Grizz smiled, turning to Hobbes.

"This place is great! They have everything here, and it's all super cheap too!"

"This looks like a thrift store…" Hobbes mulled.

Grizz patted Hobbes's back. " aw don't be like that! Lets go inside!"

Grizz didn't wait for an answer, he just dragged Hobbes inside.

A small bell rang above the door as the two walked into the store. The first thing that popped into Hobbes's mind was "pathetic". If the outside was bad, the inside was even worse. The entire shop felt dusty with worn posters on the walls. Clothes were folded lazily,and the whole presentation of the store seemed half-assed.

A single teenage employee gave an unenthusiastic wave to the pair, before returning to his phone. Hobbses didn't see any other employees. It was a miracle this place was still open to begin with.

"So! See anything that catches your eye?" Grizz asked.

Hobbes walked around and grimaced, looking at his options. Most of the clothes here had holes, weird stains or just smelled bad. Hobbes would have to be paid to wear any of this junk.

He turned back to look at Grizz, and was met with an excited smile. The same smile he usually wore. He looked so damn happy to be in this crappy store, as if he was waiting to share with someone for so long. A twinge of guilt pans over Hobbes. He didn't wanna just not buy anything here and risk disappointing Grizz.

Hobbes continued to walk around the store more, only to be met with more clothes that either didn't fit him or didn't look too nice. He wasn't looking for some fancy brand or anything. Just something that was worth buying. He made a turn near the corner of the store and just as he was about to give up and give Grizz some bad news, he saw a stack of nice, neat looking clothes.

A few shirts, different pants, the works, All neatly stacked in the very back of the store. It looked very out of place.

Hobbes checked the price tag.

“20 bucks? For all of this?”

Grizz suddenly appeared from the corner of Hobbes’s eye. The tiger jumped a bit.

“Aww yeah! That's what i love about this place! It's so affordable! They have so many good clothes for disguises too! Look over there they have-”

Hobbes looked back at the clothes, tuning out Grizz as he went on about disguises. It was odd that the clothes were there but it was either buying these or wearing nothing at all in the cave.

Hobbes pictured himself relaxing on the couch naked With Grizz for a second, then instantly shut the thought down, blushing a little. He scooped the clothes with one hand and Started to walk to the register.

“Wha- Hey man wait!” Grizz dashed in front of Hobbes and took some of the clothes to carry himself.

“Can't have you doing all the work! I’d be a bad host then!” Grizz claimed.

“You're my host. Not my maid Grizz. It's really fine..” 

“No way! It's the least I can do. Now c'mon. I'm buying.”

True to his word, Grizz walked up to the register and gave the employee a card. It had a little bear print on it and the names of all three bears squeezed together on it.

“Booyah! Card me and my bros share! Ice bear is usually the only one that adds money onto it though...heh heh…” Grizz muttered.

The employee looks at the pair of clothes oddly for a bit before shrugging and scanning it all.  
“Thank you very much! Have a wonderful day my man!” Grizz squealed.

The teenage employee just gave him a funny look before mumbling: “You too...i guess..”

Hobbes tried to contain a giggle, as he watched Grizz torture the young boy with his enthusiasm. As they walked out, Hobbes took a deep breath, savoring the fresh air again.

He paused, and felt a low grumble in his stomach. It had been an hour or so since they left the cave, and skipping breakfast hadn't done Hobbes any favors.

Grizz patted Hobbes on the stomach, earning a blush from the tiger.

“Hungry huh? You shoulda ate back home dude! C'mon there’s a place to eat at right up ahead!”

Hobbes simply nodded and began to follow Grizz.

It had begun to get a lot more industrial as the two walked. No more were Grizz and Hobbes surrounded by enormous tree’s and plentiful wildlife. Now it was replaced with sidewalks, busy streets, and plentiful shops to choose from. A lot of them were restaurants like Grizz mentioned and slowly Hobbes began to feel overwhelmed. 

In the distance he could see a huge red bridge. His knowledge of the outside world was pretty bad but even he knew that was something in san francisco. He felt relieved for a second, being able to figure that out, but quickly began to panic again, thinking about how he couldn't remember what his actual home was before all this.

Hobbes continued to space out while walking with Grizz. As he walked, he failed to notice the telephone pole right in front of him. Before it could hit him, Grizz pulled him aside, instantly snapping Hobbes out of his thoughts. Hobbes looked around confused for a bit, before looking down and having his eyes rest on Grizz’s hand firmly clamped over his.

“Everything ok man? You wanna sit down for a sec?” Grizz had a concerned look on his face, as if he was ready to drop everything to make sure Hobbes was ok. Hobbes shook his head and gently tugged away from Grizz’s hand, signaling he wanted to be let go.

Grizz looked down and laughed for a bit before taking away his hand. “R-right! Sorry!” He stammered. “I uh, just didn't want you hurt is all.”

He turned around and began to blush a bit before continuing to walk.

They didn’t walk too far. Grizz jumped as the restaurant he wanted to go to came into focus.  
When Hobbes took a look, he could see that It was a small looking diner, nothing too out of the ordinary about it. It was much more populated and modern looking then “brandons” was. Hobbes shuddered just thinking about the place, Then his stomach growled again.

“C’mon let go man!” Grizz sped up his walking just a little bit. He didn't wanna make it difficult for Hobbes to follow him, but it was hard to behave himself whenever food was on the line.

When the two walked into the diner, they were greeted by a waiter and immediately sat down at a booth. Grizz requested a booth, apparently the chairs were too tiny for him here. Pop music played in the background as coffee, bacon and other breakfast foods could be smelt across the entire place.

“ This place is the best! They have such good food here! You’ll love it, I promise and if you don't, i'll take you out to every place until you find a place you love!” Grizz began.

Enthusiastic as ever, Grizz continued to monologue about how he would find a place Hobbes would love to eat at. Hobbes took out his wallet and placed it on the table before looking around the place, desperate to recognize anything. He sighed. No luck.

Grizz stopped mid monologue, noticing how Hobbes looked and put his paw on Hobbes hand.

“Hey man don't get that look! What did I say before? Even if you can't remember anything, I'm gonna make sure you stay at this cave until you feel completely safe leaving it ok? You don't gotta worry man! Im here!” 

Grizz had spoken a little bit too loudly, earning some confused stares from other customers. Nevertheless Hobbes smiled, thankful that Grizz seemed so determined to help him.

“Grizz...you're doing it again dude.” Hobbes said. Referring to holding hands.

“Huh? OH! Heheh i can't help it! Your hands are so much smaller than mine. It's uh..like a stress ball?” Grizz awkwardly explained.

“Anyways...Nothing so far has triggered a memory or anything huh?”

Hobbes looked down at the table. “No, nothing at all. The only thing that was slightly weird was the neat clothes in the back of that old- er….charming shop we went too.” Hobbes recalled.

The two sat in a somber silence for a bit, neither knowing what to say. Before either of them could try to say anything though, a tv ad had caught their attention.

Air Horns and trendy memes plagued the tv as a koala bear danced and moved on the screen.  
Grizz sighed, it was Nom-Nom. No doubt about it, and it looked like he was doing some kind of tour starting right here in san francisco. 

Grizz rested his arms on the table, slumping down uncharacteristically. Hobbes simply looked back at Grizz.

“A koala huh? Pretty cute right?” Hobbes asked.

“Uh….yeah..” Grizz replied. He sat back up, his mood a bit dampened. “Me and our bros have a history with that guy..”

Hobbes’s ears jolted a bit. “Woah! Like a collab or something?!”

Grizz grimaced. “I’ll explain when we get home man. The short answer is no.”

Hobbes seemed satisfied and dropped the conversation all together, turning back to the tv. Grizz looked out to the window doing his best to ignore it. Anything having to do with Nom-Nom couldnt mean anything good. He could only hope that the koala didint get tangled up with what he's doing. As Grizz’s brain thought up more and more scenarios of how Nom-Nom could interfere in some way, Grizz could only mumble one thing.

“Where the hell is this waiter….”


End file.
